Last night at 7.15pm I went to my friend’s round the corner, it was a dry but cold evening and there was nothing out of the ordinary anywhere, however when I came back round the corner an hour later I found a substantial amount of water running along the gutter past my house and disappearing down the drain a few feet away. Looking along the street I could see that the whole road was awash with water – it hadn’t been like that an hour before so being intrigued I went to see where it was coming from.
Just along the street is an unadopted back lane with a row of five garages set sideways-on to the road and the water was coming out of the ground in three places just in front of the first garage – presumably it was a burst pipe, but whatever it was it was certainly leaking good style. The water was running right across the road, turning the whole of that part of the street into a river before splitting into two, with some of the water running round the next corner and the rest flowing past my house and into the nearby drain.
I did speak briefly to the husband of one of the neighbours round the corner and he said he’d just phoned United Utilities to report it – I don’t know if it would be classed as an emergency but just before midnight someone finally turned up to fix it. They obviously hadn’t been very successful though – maybe it needed more than two men with a couple of torches and a spade! – as when I went to work at 6.30 this morning the water was still flowing, but at least they’d managed to get it so it was only coming out of the ground in one place and not three.
Life In The Mouse House 
Dreadful! Not the same thing, but we have drains at the end of our street that fill with leaves and red blaze from the playing fields next door. The council never clears them properly and in very heavy rain they block, and the road and pavements are flooded. I’ve had to take my shoes off and paddle home a couple of times – we’re a cul-de-sac and there’s no other way in.
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We have a similar problem here. The drains along my street are very often blocked and in times of heavy rain, and due to the bend and the camber of the road, water will run past my house and round the corner into the next avenue which is a cul-de-sac. I’ve often felt sorry for the people who live there as it very often becomes quite a substantial paddling pool. Quite coincidentally it was only the week before last when the council came round and cleared the drains so at least this little lot isn’t going any further than the drain a few feet from my gate.
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Surprising, when we have broken drains around here United Utilities do seem to get on the scene very quickly. You are right – a shocking waste of water.
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It’s been sorted now, some guys arrived just before 10am with a mini digger on a trailer, cordoned off half the width of the street and dug a big hole where the water was coming out. When I went to work at 4.15pm the hole had been filled in and the street was dry although the barriers are still in place. The guy who owns the first garage won’t be very happy though, it’s not long since he had his little patch of land outside it block paved and now the workmen have dug it all up! 😦
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I would imagine they would treat burst pipes as an emergency and you’re right it is a terrible waste of water. Glad to read in your comments that it’s now been sorted.
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It’s fine now although it’s a mystery why the pipe should suddenly burst like that. I don’t suppose the recent cold weather has helped any though 😦
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